


A Romp in the Castle

by ellie_effie



Series: Trailing Veilfire [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Just silly fluff, Skyhold (Dragon Age), and some beautiful art, inspired by a silly mistake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27818314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellie_effie/pseuds/ellie_effie
Summary: Basically, the story of how Yondi'nne decided to rescue an otter and how it ended up adopting Solas.Fluffy fluffiness inspired by me and Rina seeing an otter in Solas's staff! XD She has given me a beautiful drawing inspired by our comment, and in turn I have my Lavellan and her lover a pet otter.
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Solas (Dragon Age), Female Lavellan/Solas
Series: Trailing Veilfire [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870522
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	A Romp in the Castle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InArlathan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InArlathan/gifts).



They were stepping out of Valammar when they first heard the creature’s cries for help, and before they could say anything, the Inquisitor bolted ahead. Her Dalish upbringing had certainly prepared her for identifying the most distinct sounds in the forest, and she apparently knew exactly where that sound had come from and what was making it. 

Solas held back a grunt when she stopped on her tracks and closed her yes to listen to the sound. Even before she started running again, he had an idea of what it was and what the Inquisitor would want to do. She stopped on the shores of the lake and crouched next to a thick node of crystal grace, and shouted back without lifting her head:

“It’s hurt!”

The three companions begrudgingly went to see what was going on. They were all tired from the recent excursion to the abandoned thaig: Varric had complained all the way back to the surface, while Blackwall seemed a little testy ever since the Inquisitor had asked him how many darkspawn they should expect. Solas himself was grumpy and looking forward to going to camp after closing off that many darkspawn tunnels, although he was uncomfortably sure that the barriers wouldn’t hold up for long.

Laying down in the middle of the flowers, was an otter. It must have been there for some time, because it looked emancipated and starving. Its front right paw was visibly broken, with coagulated blood around a nasty wound.

“Poor creature!”, Blackwall said, “I’ve seen people using them for fishing: this one probably got caught into their nets and they just abandoned it.”

“I bet it was the Carta!”, Varric said.

Yondi'nne Lavellan covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes filled with pity for the injured animal.

“What do we do?”

The two men looked at Solas for an answer. With his eyebrows raised, he knelt down next to her and examined the broken paw. The otter looked up at him in alarm, but couldn’t move away. 

“Allow me”, he said in a calm tone.

When Solas closed his fingers around the wound, it nibbed at him as if to ask him to stop. He chuckled and ran his thumb on the otter’s head as healing magic poured into the tiny broken bones. Once it realised what was happening, the otter closed its mouth and stared up at him. He let go of the animal and stood up.

“That’s all I can do for it, unfortunately”, Solas explained. “I’m not very well versed in the treatment of animals.”

Swiftly, Yondi'nne picked up the animal and held it close to her chest. The otter looked around, clearly not understanding what was happening.

“Someone at Skyhold will know what to do”, she said resolutely, turning on her heels and marching back to camp. When none of her companions followed her, she shouted back over her shoulder: “I thought you were all hungry, come along!”

“Inquisitor, that is a wild animal!”, Blackwall argued.

“What if it bites you? What if it has otter rabies or something?”, Varric added. But Yondi’nne ignored them both and kept walking, the otter’s head resting on her shoulder.

Blackwall and Varric again looked at Solas, who didn’t even try to hide the soft smile curling his lips. He loved her for her compassion and her desire to help those in need, and he loved her stubbornness. If that meant that now they would be taking care of an injured creature, so be it. Still smiling, he sighed and followed his vhenan back to camp.

Despite the awkward looks exchanged between the Inquisition’s officers, nobody openly questioned why the Inquisitor had brought an otter to camp. And when she asked for them to find a place for it to be kept, one or two agents filled a wicker basket with blood lotus and elfroot so that the animal would be more comfortable. For the rest of the day, the otter laid quietly in its basket, rolled into a ball with its head perking up from time to time. It kept following Solas with its eyes and he even felt compelled to duck his head at it, as if to say goodnight, before going to sleep.

Solas wasn’t surprised when Yondi’nne carried the basket with the otter inside their shared tent, although he wasn’t exactly pleased with it either. She gently deposited the basket on the floor, by the foot of both their bedrolls and scratched the animal’s head before crawling on the bedroll next to him. Solas remained propped up on his elbow, looking at the otter while chewing on the inside of his cheek. His lover chuckled at him and pulled him down to lay next to her.

“Don’t look like that! What was I supposed to do? Leave him alone to sleep outside?”

“I would argue that he would prefer it, given that he is an animal who until now lived freely in the woods”, Solas pointed out, deliberately ignoring the fact that they both had just referred to the animal as  _ him _ .

“Yes, but… What if something happens? What if he needs something? Or if he feels pain or fear?”, Yondi’nne said, almost with a whine.

Solas sighed and put out the alchemical lamp next to him. He laid on the bedroll and kissed the top of her head, draping one arm across her waist. “Ma nuvinen, vhenan”, he said before closing his eyes.

She kissed the tip of his chin and happily snuggled next to him. “Good night, love.” A few seconds later, she added “Good night, otter.” Solas tired and failed to hold back a chuckle when he heard that.

A few hours later, Solas was enjoying a pleasant conversation with a Spirit of Justice in the Fade when they were interrupted by desperate cries. The incessant, whining sound was repeating every few seconds like an alarm. Solas jolted awake and reached for Yondi’nne next to him: she was perfectly fine, rolled onto her side and sleeping like a log. 

Turning on the light again, he found the otter’s head staring back at him and squealing in desperation. He tried to wake the sleeping elf next to him, but Yondi’nne just mumbled something in her sleep and pulled the covers up to her ears.

“Excellent”, he said in an exasperated voice as he crawled down to check on the otter. The animal was agitated and trying to move around the basket, so it wasn’t pain that had woken him. Struggling to keep his body upright, Solas picked up the basket and stepped out of tent with the screeching otter.

He placed the basket on the ground and ran his hand on the otter’s body. “Now now, you will wake everyone at camp, we don’t want Varric in a worse mood than he is.” The petting seemed to soothe him, but Solas understood what was wrong when he laid his hand on the animal’s skinny ribs. “She forgot to feed you, didn’t she?”, Solas asked the otter. 

Solas found some fish being cured dry with salt by the Requisition’s table, and separated some of the still raw pieces. The moment he handed the first piece to the otter, the animal munched away happily.

“You have to forgive her”, he continued as he handed more fish to the animal. “She does have the best intentions, but she forgets some more… practical details from time to time.”

As the otter looked up at him with pieces of fish all over his mouth and nose, Solas laughed at himself for talking to an animal that didn’t even understand what he was saying.

“But I hope that you like Skyhold, little one”, he continued, scratching his tiny head. “You won’t have anyone forcing you to fish for them there, I can promise that.”

When they finally returned to the castle, life resumed its fast pace. Both Solas and Yondi’nne were again busy with their responsibilities, but they trusted their new furry friend was being taken care of. A few times, over breakfast or before they went to bed, Yondi’nne mentioned that she was meaning to find out what had happened to the otter, but kept forgetting to ask around for it.

One afternoon, a week or so after they had returned, Solas was walking around the garden when he heard a familiar squealing coming from near the plant pots. He observed as the otter chased around a butterfly, his front paw clearly healed. One of the gardners was laughing at the playful animal while trimming the bushes.

“The Inquisitor should build a fountain for you to play on, little otter!”

_ Don’t encourage her! _ , Solas thought looking around to see if she was around and had heard the comment. 

In any case, she would be happy to know the otter was healed and happy. He stayed for a few more moments, just watching the animal play, before leaving the sunlit garden to go back to his rotunda and continue his work. He found it very odd that a few of the castle’s visitors seemed to laugh at him while he passed the main hall, and even Varric shook his head in amusement when Solas passed by him.

  
  


It was only when he was in the middle of the rotund that he heard the pitter patter of tiny paws echoing on the walls. He looked behind to find the otter standing on his hind legs, looking at him with interest.

“Did you just follow me here?”, he asked and the otter just smelled the air. There he was again, trying to talk to the animal. Solas crouched and held out his hand to the animal, who then came running to sniff it. “I’m afraid I don’t have any fish this time.”

With a soft squeal, the otter ran past him to sniff his desk. Solas stood and sat down on his chair while the otter skittered over to the other side of the room. 

“I’m happy to see that you’re healed, my friend, but I’m afraid I do have to work.” The otter promptly ignored him and continued to explore the rotunda. With an amused huff, Solas picked up his quill to continue his work. For the rest of the day, they both went on their business without interrupting one another. From time to time, Solas raised his head to find the otter napping on the floor or chasing its long tail.

Later that night, Solas heard Yondi’nne’s voice coming from the second floor of the tower. She was telling Dorian about something she had read in a book, when the otter bleated at the sight of a rat. 

“Oh, here you are!” Solas looked up to find her face smiling down at him.

“Where else would I be,” Before he could finish his question, Yondi’nne vaulted over the railings and jumped down, landing next to the otter. “...vhenan?”

While Yondi’nne scratched the animal’s belly, who happily rolled around the floor, Solas stood from his chair and walked over to them. “For a moment there, I thought you meant me”, he said with a chuckle.

“I’m happy to see you too, vhenan!”, Yondi’nne stood to give him a kiss. “And I’m happy to see him as well! Where did you find him?”, she asked, wrapping an arm around his waist. He, in turn, wrapped his arm around her waist and looked down at the excited animal.

“I think it’s fair to say that he found me, actually.”

Dorian, who had taken the more reasonable way down, climbed down the stairs and looked at the otter running in circles around the elves.

“That’s… an odd looking cat.”

“It’s an otter, Dorian”, Yondi’nne explained with a snort.

“Ah! Of course…” The otter happily squeaked as he rubbed his body on the couple’s legs. “Solas, what are you doing with an otter in your office?”

“It’s not my doing!”, Solas said and pointed a finger at Yondi’nne. “ _ She _ was the one who decided to rescue it.”

She lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “And who healed his paw? And whose office did he go to, huh? Who is spending his day with him?”

“Oh, well… But that’s not… And I…”, he began but gave up when the otter showed his belly for Solas to scratch with his foot. He cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should have a fountain built in the garden so that he has a more suitable space to play, vhenan.”

“That’s an excellent idea, love! I’ll talk to Josie, see what can be done.”

Dorian clasped his hands together and said: “Goodie, so the odd cat stays! I presume he will need a name, though.”

“I have actually given it some thought”, Solas said and Yondi’nne looked up excitedly at him. But when he spoke the long name in Elvhen, she looked at him quizzically as Dorian held up a hand and knitted his eyebrows.

“Is that a name or a small biography of your pet?”

“It  _ means _ ”, Solas began dignantly, “‘the Spirit that Floats Over Troubled Waters’ in Elvish.”

Yondi’nne looked awkward for a moment before dropping down to her knees to scratch the otter’s head. The animal happily grabbed her hands while wiggling on the floor.

“Oh, no, vhenan!”, Yondi’nne said through a breathy laugh, “His name is Tootsies because he has furry little toesies! Look at him with his widdle toesis, aren’t you the cutest thing? Aren’t you the cutest, Tootsies?”

Dorian humorously shook his head at the Inquisitor and put his hand on Solas’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you lost this one, my friend.”

With a happy sigh, Solas clasped his hands behind his back and watched as Yondi’nne continued to play with Tootsies on the floor.

“If you can’t beat them…”, he concluded with a shrug.

The next morning, he woke up and found Yondi’nne in the garden with Josephine taking measurements for the fountain. When Solas left them, he didn’t even have to look down to know he was once again being followed to his office.

“Alright, Tootsies,”, he told the otter as he opened a book in front of him on his desk, “if you wish to accompany me, you do need to be quiet because I have work...to do.”

Solas looked down and didn’t find the otter. But he could swear he heard him following him through the hall... 

He moved to sit down on his chair but startled as he felt something had been put there. With a loud squeal, Tootsies informed him that the chair had been taken.

Solas chuckled at the animal. “You do need to learn how to share.” He gently picked up the animal and laid it on his lap as he sat.

“Now will you let me work?”, he asked as the otter sniffed the book on the desk. “Well, I agree that this work is incomplete and at times even incoherent, but that’s what one gets from Chantry scholars.”

Solas scratched the animal’s back, and Tootsie responded by rubbing his nose on Solas’s chin. 

“Yes, we will have to make due, won’t we?”

Solas was able to get his work started only after Tootsies curled up on his lap and started snoring.

  
  



End file.
